2020 MBAs To Watch: Jazmine Carter, University of Rochester (Simon) – Poets&Quants

Curious learner that challenges the status quo with a fun-loving attitude.

Hometown: High Point, North Carolina

Fun fact about yourself: With an adventurous spirit, I flew ~4,000 miles from upstate New York to live in Dusseldorf, Germany for 40 days as an MBA exchange student at WHU University, Otto Beisheim School of Management to experience European culture for the first-time.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA Communication Studies

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Southwest Airlines, Business Consultant- Customer Experience, Dallas, Texas

Where did you intern during the summer of 2018? CVS Health, Enterprise Strategy, Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Where will you be working after graduation? Johnson & Johnson, Human Resource Leadership Development Program

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As the VP of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) on the Graduate Business Council and leader of the D&I Center of Excellence, I am proud to say that I have impacted my community. As a businesswoman of color, its paramount for me to help educate and influence my generation of world leaders. In this capacity, I support 8 D&I clubs, lead a diversity-focused student council and leadership board. I promote partnership and collaboration through dedicated leadership forums and reoccurring communications. I established the first Women of Color Group as a sisterhood for first and second-year MBAs. I led Simons annual D&I week themed to celebrate how inclusion drives diversity at Simon. I worked in partnership with admissions to hold D&I week for the first time in tandem with the annual Diversity Conference to magnify impact. A special thanks to my board members and advisors Nate Kadar and Janet Mejias for their support and mentorship along the way that made the aforementioned possible.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? The achievement I am proudest of in my professional career is my contribution to Southwest Airlines, both its customers and the Southwest employee family. I had the privilege of working cross-functionally at Southwest, partnering with the operations, supply chain, marketing, and technology departments among others. I contributed to major strategic initiatives like optimizing the inflight food and beverage program, launching the 2017 uniform refresh impacting 40,000+ frontline employees, and supporting the five-year strategic investment planning process for the Commercial organization. In addition to business acumen, I learned what it means to truly live the Southwest way. Following the golden rule and putting people first is not just a mantra but the way of life at Southwest. These values will always and forever be a part of who I am and how I live both professionally and personally because of this rich experience.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? The professor I have enjoyed learning from the most is Thomas Shaw. He is truly a passionate communications leader. His Elements of Leadership course is my favorite offering at Simon. He has a unique way of making this course personally challenging and forward-looking as you prepare for management post-MBA. He fosters an open environment packed with meaningful dialogue in the classroom, allowing students to openly reflect, challenge, and support each other. I really appreciate his intentionality around the design of his courses and his time offered to students interested in further discussing the field.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA tradition at Simon is our weekly Keeping Simon Social event held at local Rochester establishments as a school-wide networking night. All students are invited to come together for fellowship, celebration, and to foster the strong bonds of friendship that make our community unique. It is a great way to connect with the incoming class and stay connected with your classmates. This student-led initiative (shout out to Josh West) truly reflects how close we are as a school community and how much we prioritize maintaining our strong culture.

Why did you choose this business school? Undoubtedly, I choose Simon Business School because of the strong, diverse culture and community. I can genuinely say from the moment I stepped foot on campus that I felt at home. My interactions with alumni, admissions, and current students were authentic, welcoming, and inspiring. I felt surrounded by life-long learners also striving to better themselves and those around them. The opportunity to make an impact while also being impacted left a strong impression.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your schools MBA program? Be your authentic self and allow your personality to shine in every interaction and touchpoint with Simon. At Simon, we genuinely want to know who you are and want makes you tick just as much as we want you to get to know us. Invite us into your journey and we welcome the opportunity to impact your story.

What is the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth is that Rochester is a small town, missing the big city allure. Rochester and the surrounding area is packed with unique cuisines, artsy offerings, and outdoor adventures. With Niagara Falls and outlets a short drive away and great local breweries, and the Finger Lakes in close proximity your bucket-list will fill up fast. I found Rochester to be a hidden gem that is uniquely positioned for jet setting to the city in one hour or simply tucking away for a quiet outdoor skiing excursion.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing youd do differently and why? Having the mindset to think of every setback as a setup supporting your growth both personally and professionally. Inherent to business school are challenges but having a growth mindset believing you arent failing but you are merely learning is critical to success.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Wallace Gundy. Her friendly spirit is infectious, her altruistic nature manifests in every interaction she has with current or prospective students, and her relentless dedication to impacting our community makes her an incredible student leader. Her reach spans wide at the University of Rochester as the Graduate Business School (GBC) President. She truly goes the extra mile to ensure every student at Simon has an opportunity to share their voice and be heard. I am thankful to have worked under her tutelage on GBC, am forever grateful for the impact she has made on my life and in our community.

Hobbies? Learning (trying) to cook, working out, and enjoying the movies with friends and popcorn (if considered a hobby)

What made Jazmine such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

Jazmine and I clicked from early on in her program during the Pre-Fall term of her 1st year. She and I began meeting regularly to strategize on her transition back to higher education and to business school, creating action plans early on for her success. I recognized how self-aware, passionate, and driven she was and knew very early on she was not someone to back down from any challenge. I have always admired her work ethic and ability to balance school and student life, recruiting, extra-curricular activities, while also taking wellness breaks and time away from business school life.

During the Winter and Spring term of 2019, Jazmine was elected by her peers to serve as the Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion for the Graduate Business Council (GBC) of the Simon Business School. This student-led organization works closely with administration and students in order to create programming that builds community, offers support, promotes professional development and builds up students beyond what our curriculum offers. In this position, she was also named President of the Simon Diversity & Inclusion Ambassadors, which she helped rebrand and recreate the structure of the organization by introducing the Simon Diversity & Inclusion Center of Excellence.

Through these roles, she brought our community together with events such as the Diversity & Inclusions Talent Show, 2nd Annual Diversity & Inclusion Week leading up to the Simon Business School Diversity Conference, and Simon Global Showcase in collaboration with International Education Week. She also created and led a student-focused Diversity Advisory Council of ten full-time students who meet monthly for community-based diversity discussions and climate within our community.

Jazmine has helped build a culture of accountability that encouraged our various Diversity-based clubs to collaborate more frequently. She takes her responsibilities seriously and manages to balance them with the pursuit of her MBA while supporting those with whom she works. Summarizing her achievements in a couple of sentences should in no way simplify all that she has accomplished, as it has gone far in strengthening and educating our community in the space of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The Simon Business School is a better place having Jazmine as part of our student community, and soon to be alumni community. I look forward to watching her grow professionally and personally and I know she will find success in anything and everything she does.

Nathan KadarDirector of Student LifeSimon Business School, University of Rochester

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2020 MBAs To Watch: Jazmine Carter, University of Rochester (Simon) - Poets&Quants